Fish food? Data shows retail investors are buying Bitcoin, whales are selling (2024)

Bitcoin (BTC) staged an impressive recovery after dropping to its three-month low of $42,333 on Dec. 4, rising to as high as $51,000 since.

The BTC price retracement primarily surfaced due to increased buying activity among addresses that hold less than 1 BTC. In contrast, the Bitcoin wallets with balances between 1,000 BTC and 10,000 BTC did little in supporting the upside move, data collected by Ecoinometrics showed.

“Bitcoin is still stuck in a situation where small addresses are willing to stack sats [the smallest unit of account of Bitcoin], while the whale addresses aren’t really accumulating,” the crypto-focused newsletter noted after assessing the change in Bitcoin amounts across small and rich wallet groups, as shown in the graph below.

Fish food? Data shows retail investors are buying Bitcoin, whales are selling (1)

Ecoinometrics further asserted that the situation for Bitcoin is “not ideal,” suggesting that BTC’s price may end up resuming its decline in the absence of influential buyers.

Bitcoin’s downside target sits near $42K

Ecoinometrics’ bearish outlook appeared as Bitcoin grappled with the United States Federal Reserve’s policy decision on Wednesday to reduce its bond purchases by $30 billion every monthto unwind them down by April next year entirely.

The $120-billion-a-month stimulus program was instrumental in sending BTC’s price from below $4,000 in March 2020 to $69,000 in November 2021. And now that the liquidity threatens to go away, with lending to become costlier as the Fed prepares for three rate hikes next year, many fear that it would hurt investors’ appetite for risk assets like Bitcoin.

Bitcoin price briefly popped above $49,000 after the Fed FOMC meeting confirmed at least three interest rate hikes and some adjustments to the current market supporting practices in 2022. https://t.co/TpTX7tGmYL pic.twitter.com/lXw47icZmB

— Cointelegraph Markets (@CointelegraphMT) December 15, 2021

Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital Holdings, admitted that Bitcoin might feel “pain ahead” but anticipates that its price would not fall anywhere beyond the $42,000 support.

“$42,000 is at a pretty important level, and low 40s should hold,” the crypto billionairetoldBloomberg TV in an interview Tuesday, adding:

“So much money is pouring into the space, it would make no sense that the crypto prices would go much below that.If you’re long, it feels painful, but it’s probably healthy.”
Fish food? Data shows retail investors are buying Bitcoin, whales are selling (2)

Bitcoin accumulation stronger among retail

In reality, unique wallets holding more than or equal to 1,000 BTC have been declining in 2021, with data from Glassnode showing its number dropping to 2,147 from 2,475 since Feb. 9.

Fish food? Data shows retail investors are buying Bitcoin, whales are selling (3)

In contrast, the number of unique wallets holding at least 0.01 BTC (around $485 at current exchange rates) rose in 2021, from 8.46 million to 9.39 million.

Meanwhile, addresses holding at least 0.1 BTC (~$4,855) surged from 3.12 million to 3.30 million in the same period, indicating that “fishes” played a key role in pumping Bitcoin’s price from around $30,000 to as high as $69,000 this year.

Fish food? Data shows retail investors are buying Bitcoin, whales are selling (4)

One more piece of evidence showing that retail investors have been bullish on Bitcoin has came from addresses that hold at least 1 BTC.

Related:Analysts expect Bitcoin trend change after Fed lays out its 2022 roadmap

These wallets decreased in quantity in the first half of 2021 as the BTC market grappled with the China ban and other negative newsbut started increasing in the second half as El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as a legal tender.

Fish food? Data shows retail investors are buying Bitcoin, whales are selling (5)

The number of Bitcoin wallets with at least 1 BTC also kept rising during the BTC price correction from $69,000 to $42,333 in the November–December session, signaling accumulation. It reached a seven-month high on Wednesday just as Bitcoin underwent a rebound to $50,000 from its weekly low near $46,000.

On-chain analyst Willy Woo also spotted retail accumulation rising to levels seen after the March 2020 crash, which led to Bitcoin’s two-year-long bull run.

Fish food? Data shows retail investors are buying Bitcoin, whales are selling (6)

Additionally, Bitcoin’s momentum indicator that preceded its price breakout to $69,000 earlier this year is also hinting at a potential BTC price breakout ahead.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Fish food? Data shows retail investors are buying Bitcoin, whales are selling (2024)

FAQs

What happens when whales buy Bitcoin? ›

Oftentimes, a whale could buy cryptocurrencies on an exchange and move them into their wallets in large volumes. This could result in a bullish price action for the crypto. In some scenarios, whales may choose not to disturb the markets by buying or selling on an exchange.

Are whales buying or selling BTC? ›

These whales who hold between 1,000 and 10,000 BTC have reduced their holdings from almost 8 million BTC back in December 2021 to less than 7 million BTC in December 2022. Even in the last couple of months, they have reduced their balances by more than 200,000 BTC, showing that they are still selling.

Where to see what whales are buying crypto? ›

What are the common crypto whale tracking tools? Watcher. guru is an example of a website that keeps track of the transactions of the top 1000 holders for most cryptocurrencies. Custom cryptocurrency addresses can also be tracked and you get a notification when transactions are made with that address.

Why are whales selling Bitcoin? ›

Whales are people or organizations who own large amounts of crypto. Whales can manipulate the market with their massive wealth. Sell walls decrease a coin's price, allowing whales to make cheap purchases. Buy walls force investors to increase the price of a coin that a whale owns.

How many crypto coins does it take to be a whale? ›

For Bitcoin, a whale is an investor that holds 1,000 or more BTC tokens. The crypto whales tracker indicates that whales hold nearly 40% of the available BTC tokens. It is rumored that the inventor of BTC, Satoshi Nakamoto, holds between 75,000 to 1 million BTC.

How many Bitcoin do you need to be considered a whale? ›

Generally speaking, a crypto whale is an entity that holds enough digital currency to significantly influence market prices by trading significant amounts of coins and tokens. Although there isn't a straightforward or defined threshold, most Bitcoin whales own a minimum of 1,000 bitcoins (BTCs).

Is Bitcoin manipulated by whales? ›

Whales can manipulate the market without trading BTC

For example, placing a 3,000 BTC buy order at a price lower than the spot price could create a support point for Bitcoin. If the whale is indeed bluffing, it will cancel the trade order when the BTC price approaches the order level.

Are crypto whales good or bad? ›

Crypto Whales Can Truly Make or Break a Market

Whether they're dumping their holdings or buying up new assets, the average crypto owner's position in the market can be drastically improved or totally ruined by these all-powerful investors.

How do you know when a whale buys crypto? ›

Investors who want insights into what crypto whales are buying and their other activities can successfully track whale movements using common crypto whale tracking tools and analysis, including: Whale tracker tools and websites like Whale Alert, Watcher Guru, and the leading on-chain analytics platform, Whalemap.

Which crypto are the whales accumulating? ›

Crypto Market May See Renewed Volatility as Whales Begin to Accumulate Bitcoin.

Who are the top crypto whales? ›

Who Are the Big Whales in Crypto? Some of the publicly-known crypto holders with large amounts of cryptocurrency are Sam Bankman-Fried, Micheal Saylor, and Brian Armstrong.

Is there an app to track crypto whales? ›

ClankApp tracks real-time whale transactions on social media platforms like Telegram and Twitter. There are push notifications, email alerts, as well as subscription packages. This tool is free to use and allows users to track 24 blockchains without any cost, and is the best option for beginners.

Who owns the most Bitcoin? ›

US-based software company MicroStrategy (MSTR) was the world's biggest publicly traded corporate owner of bitcoin. MicroStrategy said in its earnings report for the fourth quarter of 2022 earnings results had holdings to 132,500 BTC, worth about $2.194bn on 2 February 2023.

Which country is currently the biggest Bitcoin miner in the world? ›

Currently, the Bitcoin mining rate in the United States is the highest of any location in the world. According to the University of Cambridge, which holds a frequently-updated guide to the Bitcoin blockchain, BTC hash rate, and power consumption, the US was number one for 2021.

Are Bitcoin whales a problem? ›

Because they are high-profile wallets, whales become a problem for cryptocurrency because of the concentration of wealth, especially when it sits unmoved in an account.

Who is the biggest whale of Bitcoin? ›

3. Michael Saylor. Michael Saylor is an American entrepreneur and businessman, as well as one of the biggest Bitcoin whales of all time. Experts even believe he might have been responsible for some major movements in the Bitcoin landscape, and he currently owns more than 17,732 bitcoins, worth over $1.14 billion.

Which crypto will explode in 2024? ›

Which crypto will rise in 2024? Sometimes, currencies like Bitcoin come up, and after that, altcoins take over. However, according to experts, cryptocurrencies like D2T, IMPT, TAMA, and RIA will rally into 2024 with massive potential.

How are crypto markets manipulated? ›

Cryptocurrency spoofing is the process by which criminals attempt to artificially influence the price of a digital currency by creating fake orders. Spoofing is accomplished by creating the illusion of pessimism (or optimism) in the market.

What is the smallest amount of Bitcoin you can own? ›

The satoshi is the smallest denomination of the cryptocurrency bitcoin. It is named after Satoshi Nakamoto, the Bitcoin creator(s). The satoshi to bitcoin ratio is 100 million satoshis to one bitcoin.

Where do Bitcoin whales store their Bitcoin? ›

A Crypto whale stores his coins in a private wallet. This is what designates a whale from other “average” owners of Cryptocurrency: the ownership of an address where a great amount of coins, or tokens, is being stored.

How many Bitcoins should you own? ›

How Much Crypto Should You Own? Most experts agree that cryptocurrencies should make up no more than 5% of your portfolio.

Are whales controlling the crypto market? ›

Because whales hold so much cryptocurrency, their movements can manipulate the token's value in massive ways. Additionally, given that they have more funds at stake, they possess more voting power.

How many people have 1 Bitcoin? ›

A share of Bitcoin is owned by about 46 million Americans, or about 22% of the adult population. On Blockchain com, which enables buying Bitcoin, about 85 million people had made individual Bitcoin wallets as of November 2022.
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CANTOCANTO$0.2810 -3.30%
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Nov 29, 2022

Are crypto whales real? ›

As the name suggests, some people own huge amounts of crypto. They're called crypto whales. To be considered a Bitcoin whale, someone would need to own 1,000 BTC or more. Although it's only a fraction of a percentage of the total number of Bitcoins in circulation, these whales have the power to move the market.

What is the estimated year when the last Bitcoin is mined? ›

As of 2021, miners gain 6.25 Bitcoins for every new block. However, in 2024, the Bitcoin mining reward will drop to 3.125 Bitcoins per mined block. At this rate—with the Bitcoin block reward reducing after every 210,000 blocks—the last Bitcoin won't be mined until around 2140.

How do you spot a whale trade? ›

There are four primary ways to track whale activities, which include monitoring known whale addresses, order books, sudden changes in market capitalization and trades on crypto exchanges. Whales are held responsible for sudden price fluctuations in the crypto and traditional markets every so often.

How do you detect a crypto pump? ›

The easiest way to identify a pump and dump scheme is when an unknown coin suddenly rises substantially without a real reason to do so. This can be easily viewed on a coin's price chart. Coincheckup, for example, has set a benchmark of a 5% price increase in less than five minutes as its indicator.

How do I know what crypto is about to pump? ›

Exchange support: you should look for its trading volume on both centralized and decentralized exchanges. Check this info on the market tab at CoinMarketCap for the coin you're looking at. Look for exchanges where it's listed (e.g. Kraken, Coinbase, Kucoin, etc.) and how it's being traded.

What is the best token to buy in 2023? ›

10 Best Low Cap Crypto to Invest in 2023
  • Tamadoge - Utility Token of Trending Crypto Gaming Platform.
  • Fetch.ai - Blockchain-based AI and Machine Learning Platform.
  • IOTA - Smart Contract Platform Designed to Handle Payments Between IoT Devices.
  • Algorand - World's First Crypto To Solve The Blockchain Trilemma.
Feb 9, 2023

Why are ethereum whales buying Shiba Inu? ›

The increasing burning of SHIB tokens likely ranks as one factor behind Ethereum whales' bullish behavior. Although the number of coins in circulation hasn't been dramatically reduced yet, an aggressive burning strategy could boost Shiba Inu's price over the long term.

What are the top ethereum whale holdings? ›

As per the details, SHIB ranks first in terms of holdings among the whales. The whales hold $133,187,605 worth of SHIB. Other holdings of the whales include LOCU, MKR, BIT, UNI, LINK, MOC, and BEST. However, in terms of the analysis of the top 100 ETH whales, SHIB is currently at the fourth rank.

Where to invest in crypto 2023? ›

10 Best Crypto to Invest in for Long Term Growth in 2023

C+Charge - Innovative Crypto Project Building an Innovative EV Charging App. RobotEra - Planet-Rebuilding Metaverse Game With P2E Mechanics. Calvaria - Strategy-Based Game Using 3D NFT Cards. Lucky Block - Fast-Growing Crypto Casino and Sportsbook.

Who is the man behind Bitcoin? ›

Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym used by the creator or creators of Bitcoin. The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is not publicly known. One of the first major public investigations ended with Dorian Nakamoto being identified as Bitcoin's creator, but he continues to decline the claim.

Who is the most influential in crypto? ›

The list includes Usman Ahmad, Diana Biggs, Ambre Soubiran, Steven Ashley, David Rutter, Philip Hammond and Sendi Young.

How do you see NFT whales? ›

How to Track NFT Whales? Once investors have identified an NFT whale either through the profit leaderboard located under NFT Paradise or alternatively through NFT God Mode, finding top holders of specific NFT collections, they can then leverage the Wallet Profiler dashboard.

How do you track whales? ›

Suction cups hold the device to a whale's back, where it records data such as depth, water, temperature, and underwater sounds. These tags can be used on many species of whales, including blue whales and humpbacks, and other versions have been used to study many other ocean animals.

How many people made millions from Bitcoin? ›

With all those people invested in crypto, it's fun to wonder how many crypto millionaires are out there. Calculating the exact number is challenging. Estimates say there are 81,408 people holding at least $1 million in Bitcoin, which is a staggering increase over two years ago when there were about 15,000.

What happens when all of Bitcoin is mined? ›

Bitcoin mining fees will disappear when the Bitcoin supply reaches 21 million. After that, miners will likely earn income only from transaction processing fees rather than a combination of block rewards and transaction fees.

Who is the owner of 1 million Bitcoin? ›

How Much Is Satoshi Nakamoto Worth? Nakamoto reportedly holds 1 million bitcoins. The total value depends upon market conditions and Bitcoin's price.

What does it mean when a whale moves Bitcoin? ›

A crypto whale is a wallet address that holds a significant amount of cryptocurrency. The community and investors watch crypto whales because they can significantly influence price movements. Whales can also create price volatility increases.

What happens when whales move crypto? ›

For example, when a whale sells their Bitcoin for fiat currency, the large transaction size affects the Bitcoin network liquidity. That way, there's downward pressure on the current BTC price because other market participants and investors see the transaction and go on high alert.

What happens when a whale buys a stock? ›

The market determined price is how over or undervalued a stock is compared to the inherent value. When a whale enters a position, the price tends to follow a similar pattern. Demand for the stock will rise rapidly as positions are being bought. Price will skyrocket and other investors will notice, jumping on board.

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